Test drove one today! Sad story!
Okay, so I've been checking Jet City Amps website for dealers near me, as Doug suggested. I find two Guitar Center locations not far from where I'm working/staying, in Kansas City. One had a JCA 20H on order, and it was slated to be in Tues. or today. They took my name and cell number, and said they'd call. (The other GC said....uh......not real sure right now.......... that sure was a clue later, but at the time I thought nothing of it.)
Well, I call this morning and a lady says, "yes, it came in yesterday"......so I'm headed that way instantly, as I had the day off today. Half hour later I'm there, 15 min. before the doors open. Apparently they answer phones @10:00 a.m. but open the doors at 11:00 The doors are unlocked around 10:55, I go in, I'm greeted at the desk, "May I help you?"......
I explain that I called last week about the Jet City JCA 20H........ "the what?"
Oh, no..... so I repeat myself........they look it up. "Oh, yeah, looks like that came in yesterday." HOORAY!...........well, not so fast................. "I don't think that's for sale until Friday......" WHAT???????
"Let me go check, sir, I'll be right back."
Then the manager comes out and asks how I found out this amp was coming to the store............. "Uh , I called last week and a salesman told me."
"What salesman?".......... "I don't remember his name, why?"
The manager tells a salesman to bring the amph out for me to see, and play if I want. Then he turns to me and says "I may get myself into hot water if I sell you that amp."
WTF's goin' on here?
Long story short.......... they break the amp out, open it, connect it to the ext. cab, I jam on it for 'bout half an hour while the manager's making phone calls. I'm LOVING the sound of the amp, LOTS of timbre, woody, full tones, and plenty of even order harmonics going on w/ a Les Paul. Doug and the crew have a winner here, methinks. The controls were tight, the shafts turned smoothly, build quality seemed great.
It all goes south........
The Guitar Center manager makes phone calls, people were talking to one another, I'm wondering........wtf?.........I just wanna buy an amph, how hard can it be.........
What NO_ONE told me (until I spoke w/ the manager, and prob'ly 'cause they didn't know) was GC only had one on order, and it is their BLACK FRIDAY promo unit which goes on sale the day after Thanksgiving. First come, first serve, no early sales. I got to play the JCA 20H, and I love the little critter................but I couldn't buy it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I got lots of apologies, "maybe you can be here Friday morning after Thanksgiving bright and early, if you're the first one to ask, it's yours when we open that morning." "Really sorry we can't sell it early, it'd make the other customers who want one mad if we sold it before we're allowed to."
"My manager called his boss, and he called someone, and they said no, it can't be sold early."
They did try to sell me in a nice Egnater, but my interest was waning, and I said no. I really was hoping for the JCA20H the day after my birthday, a nice present from myself to me....... sob, sob, sob. (insert sarcasm smilie here)
So I told Justin, Jason, and the rest no problem, and left.
I'm pretty sure someone let the cat out of the bag unwittingly about the amp arriving there, I don't remember the name (wouldn't want to if it gets somebody in trouble anyway), but I'm betting GC's everywhere will each get one amph, put it in their Black Friday ad, and when it's gone, it's gone.
I think Jet City has a winner on their hands with this amp, I guess I just won't be owning one anytime soon. A lot of people would probably drive 2 hours (I'll be home for Thanksgiving, not at the camper in K.C. so it's a much further drive), wait for the doors to open, and try to beat the rush, but not me. The nice folks there at GC also told me they've had lots of inquiries about Jet City Amps, so I'd bet there will be a few there for the big sale that Fri. morning.
Bottom line.
This 20w head sounds great! Mike Soldano's design, and Doug and Jet City's execution rock on this baby. I loved getting to jam on it! I hope the production steps up, or the dealers increase in our area, or the dealers that exist order more than 1 at a time (and will sell 'em to people), or whatever it takes.
Maybe Doug will chime in here with some advice for me.
Fretter's opinion's welcome, as always. (please, no GC or Jet City bashing, tho. It was, methinks, an honest mistake...... I just wanna get one of these little amps).
Guitars
Wilburn Versatare, '52 FrankenTele(Fender licensed parts), Fender USA Roadhouse Strat, Fender USA Standard B-bender Telecaster, Agile AL 3000 w/ WCR pickups, Ibanez MIJ V300 Acoustic, Squier Precision Bass,
Amps
Ceriatone Overtone Special, Musicman 212 Sixty-Five, Fender Blues Jr., Peavey Classic 30, Fender Super Reverb, Traynor YCV-40 WR Anniversary w/ matching 1x12 ext. cab, Epiphone SoCal 50w head w/ matching 4x12 cab (Lady Luck speakers), Avatar 2x12 semi-open back cab w/ Celestion speakers
Pedals
Digitech Bad Monkey, Digitech Jamman, DVM's ZYS, Goodrich volume pedal